Information processing device and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing device includes a display control unit that performs display control such that a first virtual object corresponding to content is contained in a rendering image of the content when a position of the content defined in a virtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in the virtual space have a first positional relation, and a second virtual object corresponding to the content is contained in the rendering image when the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint have a second positional relation. A distance between the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorter than a distance between the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint in the first positional relation, and visibility of the second virtual object is lower than visibility of the first virtual object.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2017/006009 filed on Feb. 17, 2017, which claimspriority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2016-066632 filedin the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 29, 2016. Each of theabove-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, aninformation processing method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

There are technologies for superimposing objects on backgrounds (realspaces or virtual spaces) to present the objects to users. For example,Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for displaying an objectbased on an image of a real space superimposed on an image of a realspace on a non-transmissive display or displaying an object superimposedon a background of a real space on a transmissive (see-through) display.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2014-106681A

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the foregoing technology, a display size of a display object (anobject to be displayed) corresponding to content is changed depending ona positional relation between a position of the content and a positionof a viewpoint for generating a rendering image of the content. However,most of an angle of view of a user may be occupied by the display objectdepending on the positional relation in some cases. Therefore, there isconcern that a user may not be able to view the background sufficiently.

Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a novel and improvedinformation processing device, a novel and improved informationprocessing method, and a novel and improved program capable ofpreventing occurrence of a situation in which it is difficult for a userto view a background.

Solution to Problem

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an informationprocessing device including: a display control unit configured toperform display control such that a first virtual object correspondingto content is contained in a rendering image of the content to bedisplayed in a case in which a position of the content defined in avirtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in the virtual spaceto generate the rendering image are determined to have a firstpositional relation, and a second virtual object corresponding to thecontent is contained in the rendering image to be displayed in a case inwhich the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint aredetermined to have a second positional relation. A distance between theposition of the content and the position of the viewpoint in the secondpositional relation is shorter than a distance between the position ofthe content and the position of the viewpoint in the first positionalrelation, and visibility of the second virtual object is lower thanvisibility of the first virtual object.

In addition, there is provided an information processing methodincluding: performing, by an information processing device, displaycontrol such that a first virtual object corresponding to content iscontained in a rendering image of the content to be displayed in a casein which a position of the content defined in a virtual space and aposition of a viewpoint defined in the virtual space to generate therendering image are determined to have a first positional relation, anda second virtual object corresponding to the content is contained in therendering image to be displayed in a case in which the position of thecontent and the position of the viewpoint are determined to have asecond positional relation. A distance between the position of thecontent and the position of the viewpoint in the second positionalrelation is shorter than a distance between the position of the contentand the position of the viewpoint in the first positional relation, andvisibility of the second virtual object is lower than visibility of thefirst virtual object.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aprogram causing a computer system to realize a display control functionof performing display control such that a first virtual objectcorresponding to content is contained in a rendering image of thecontent to be displayed in a case in which a position of the contentdefined in a virtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in thevirtual space to generate the rendering image are determined to have afirst positional relation, a second virtual object corresponding to thecontent is contained in the rendering image to be displayed in a case inwhich the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint aredetermined to have a second positional relation, a distance between theposition of the content and the position of the viewpoint in the secondpositional relation is shorter than a distance between the position ofthe content and the position of the viewpoint in the first positionalrelation, and visibility of the second virtual object is lower thanvisibility of the first virtual object.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure described above, it is possible toprevent occurrence of a situation in which it is difficult for a user toview a background.

Note that the effects described above are not necessarily limitative.With or in the place of the above effects, there may be achieved any oneof the effects described in this specification or other effects that maybe grasped from this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the outer appearance of aninformation processing device according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of the information processing device according to theembodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which adisplay object is specified on the basis of a display size by a displaycontrol unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contentaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aconfiguration of the display unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation of theinformation processing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an overviewof display control by the display control unit according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a thresholdsetting example based on a content size by the display control unitaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for describing an operation example of aninformation processing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for describing another example operation of theinformation processing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing device according to thepresent disclosure.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Notethat, in this specification and the appended drawings, structuralelements that have substantially the same function and structure aredenoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation ofthese structural elements is omitted.

Note that, in this description and the drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and structure are sometimesdistinguished from each other using different alphabets after the samereference sign. However, when there is no need in particular todistinguish structural elements that have substantially the samefunction and structure, the same reference sign alone is attached.

Note that the description will be made in the following order.

<<1. First embodiment>>

<1-1. Overview of first embodiment>

<1-2. Configuration of first embodiment>

<1-3. Operation of first embodiment>

<1-4. Advantageous effects of first embodiment>

<<2. Second embodiment>>

<2-1. Overview of second embodiment>

<2-2. Configuration of second embodiment>

<2-3. Operation of second embodiment>

<2-4. Advantageous effects of second embodiment>

<<3. Hardware configuration example>>

<<4. Conclusion>>

1. First Embodiment 1-1. Overview of First Embodiment

First, an overview of an information processing device according to afirst embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating theouter appearance of the information processing device according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an information processing device 1 accordingto the first embodiment of the present disclosure is a glasses typedisplay device that includes an imaging unit 110 and display units 180Aand 180B.

The information processing device 1 displays a display object (arendering result or the like of a 3D model) corresponding to content(text data, the 3D model, an effect, and the like) on the display units180A and 180B on the basis of a captured image obtained when the imagingunit 110 images a real space. The content according to the embodimentmay be, for example, information (descriptive text data, a navigationicon, a warning effect, or the like of an object in the real space) tobe presented to a user to correspond to the real space or may be, forexample, a 3D model such as a dynamically moving game character or afixed building. An example of the content according to the embodimentwill be described later. Also, a display object displayed on the displayunits 180A and 180B may be a virtual object.

The display units 180A and 180B are transmissive display units(see-through displays), and the user can view a real space along with animage displayed on the display units 180A and 180B even in a case inwhich the user wears the information processing device 1. Also, in acase in which a display object is a 3D model or the like with a depth,the display units 180A and 180B display images for the right and lefteyes, respectively so that the user is allowed to be able to perceivebinocular parallax. Note that, in the present disclosure, thetransmissive display unit is a display capable of allowing a user tosimultaneously view display by a display (the display units) and ambientlight (or a video) of a real space (background) incident from a surfaceopposite to an exit surface of light by the display.

There has been concern of visibility of a real space which is abackground for the user deteriorating depending on a kind of displayobject or display sizes (sizes displayed on the display units 180A and180B). For example, in a case in which a display object is an objectwith high visibility such as a 3D model which has a complicated textureand is subjected to polygon rendering, it is difficult for the user toview a real space on which a region in which the display object isdisplayed (a display region) is superimposed. Accordingly, in a case inwhich a display size of the display object is large and a display regionof the display object occupies most of the display units 180A and 180B,it has been difficult for the user to view the real space sufficiently.

In a case in which the user desires to view the real space sufficiently,such as a case in which the user performs dangerous work or importantwork, there has been concern of a display object hindering work of theuser when the display object with high visibility is displayed with alarge size.

Accordingly, the embodiment has been created in view of the foregoingcircumstances. According to the embodiment, by performing displaycontrol such that a display object with low visibility is displayed in acase in which a display size of content is large, it is possible toprevent occurrence of a situation in which it is difficult for a user toview a background. Hereinafter, a configuration of the embodiment inwhich such advantageous effects can be realized will be described indetail.

1-2. Configuration of First Embodiment

The overview of the information processing device 1 according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. Next, aconfiguration of the information processing device 1 according to theembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5,6A, 6B, 7, 8, and 9.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the information processing device 1 according to theembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information processing device1 includes an imaging unit 110, an image recognition unit 120, a displaycontrol unit 130, a sensor unit 140, a threshold setting unit 150, adetermination unit 160, a storage unit 170, and a display unit 180.

(Imaging Unit)

The imaging unit 110 is a camera module that acquires an image. Theimaging unit 110 acquires a captured image by imaging the real spaceusing an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or acomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). For example, the imagingunit 110 according to the embodiment may have the same angle of field asan angle of view of the user wearing the information processing device 1or a range imaged by the imaging unit 110 may be seen as an angle ofview of the user. Note that a captured image acquired by the imagingunit 110 is supplied to the image recognition unit 120.

Also, the imaging unit 110 may be a stereo camera that includes twoimage sensors and simultaneously acquires two images. In this case, thetwo image sensors are arranged horizontally. Thus, by analyzing aplurality of images acquired by the image recognition unit 120 to bedescribed below through a stereo matching method or the like, it ispossible to acquire 3-dimensional shape information (depth information)of the real space.

(Image Recognition Unit)

The image recognition unit 120 analyzes a captured image acquired by theimaging unit 110 and recognizes a 3-dimensional shape of the real spaceor an object (a real object), a marker, or the like in the real space.For example, the image recognition unit 120 may recognize the3-dimensional shape of the real space and acquire the 3-dimensionalshape information by performing a stereo matching method on a pluralityof simultaneously acquired images or performing a structure from motion(SfM) method or the like on a plurality of chronologically acquiredimages. Also, the image recognition unit 120 may recognize an object, amarker, or the like in the real space and acquire information regardingthe object, the marker, or the like by performing matching betweenfeature point information prepared in advance and feature pointinformation detected from the captured images. Note that the markerrecognized by the image recognition unit 120 is a set of textureinformation of a specific pattern or image feature point informationexpressed by, for example, a 2-dimensional code or the like.

Also, the image recognition unit 120 may acquire user information(information regarding the user such as a behavior of the user) orenvironment information (information indicating an environmentsurrounding the user), or the like on the basis of information obtainedthrough the object recognition. For example, in a case in which manyobjects which are frequently at an angle of field of the user indangerous work are detected through the object recognition, the imagerecognition unit 120 may acquire user information indicating that theuser is performing the dangerous work. Also, in a case in which anobject that is dangerous to the user, such as an automobile approachingthe user (an oncoming vehicle) or a pitfall, is detected through theobject recognition, environment information indicating that the user isin a dangerous place or situation may be acquired. Note that the detailsof the user information and the environment information will bedescribed later.

Note that the foregoing information acquired by the image recognitionunit 120 is supplied to the display control unit 130 and thedetermination unit 160.

(Display Control Unit)

The display control unit 130 causes the transmissive display unit 180 todisplay a display object on the basis of the object information, theenvironment information, 3-dimensional information of the real space,and the like supplied from the image recognition unit 120. For example,the display control unit 130 may specify content corresponding to anobject on the basis of object information of an object (information suchas a kind, a position, or the like of the object) detected from acaptured image and may specify a display object corresponding to thecontent. For example, the display control unit 130 may specify text dataused to describe the object as the content corresponding to the objectand specify a result obtained by rendering the text data using apredetermined font as the display object corresponding to the content.Note that information regarding the foregoing content or display objectmay be stored in the storage unit 170 and the display control unit 130may directly acquire (specify) content or a display object to bespecified from the storage unit 170. Also, the display control unit 130may specify a display object by generating (for example, rendering) thedisplay object so that the display object has characteristics related tovisibility to be described below on the basis of the informationregarding the content or the display object stored in the storage unit170.

Also, the display control unit 130 specifies a position of the contentdefined in a virtual space (a 3-dimensional virtual space) used forcalculation when the display control unit 130 performs rendering and adisplay position of the content on the display unit 180.

The position of the content may be specified in a virtual space, forexample, on the basis of a position of an object (a real object) in areal space corresponding to the content. The position of the real objectmay be obtained, for example, on the basis of a recognition result ofthe real object by the image recognition unit 120. Also, in a case inwhich content is not fixed in accordance with a real object, like a gamecharacter or the like that can freely move, the position of the contentmay be dynamically set (specified) in a virtual space by an application.

Also, the display control unit 130 defines (specifies) a position of aviewpoint at which a rendering image of content is generated in avirtual space. The position of the viewpoint may be specified in thevirtual space on the basis of a position of the user in the real space,may be set in response to a manipulation performed by the user, or maybe dynamically set by an application. For example, the display controlunit 130 disposes a virtual camera at the position of the viewpoint andrenders the content. The display control unit 130 generates (renders) arendering image to be shown by the virtual camera disposed at theposition of the viewpoint on the basis of a calculation process for ashape of the content, a position of the content, the degree to whichlight shines, or the like. Note that a visual line direction used forrendering of the rendering image may be specified in accordance with adetection result of a position or an attitude of the display unit 180that displays the rendering image. Also, the position or the attitude ofthe display unit 180 may be detected by the sensor unit 140 to bedescribed below.

Note that the position of the content may be expressed as coordinatevalues on a coordinate system set in the virtual space. Also, in thiscase, the position of the viewpoint may be set as coordinate values onthe coordinate system in which the position of the content is expressedin this way.

Also, the display position of the content may be specified on the basisof the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint. Forexample, as described above, the display control unit 130 may generate arendering image to be pictured by a virtual camera disposed at theposition of the viewpoint on the basis of the position or the like ofthe content so that the display position of the content on the displayunit 180 is specified.

Also, the display control unit 130 specifies the display size of thecontent and the display object corresponding to the content with thedisplay size is displayed on the display unit 180. For example, a sizeof the content (a content size) may be set in advance and a display sizeof the content may be specified on the basis of the content size. Also,the display size may be specified further on the basis of the positionof the content and the position of the viewpoint. Also, in a case inwhich the position of the content is specified on the basis of theposition of the real object, as described above, and the position of theviewpoint is specified on the basis of the position of the user, asdescribed above, the display size may be specified on the basis of theposition of the real object and the position of the user. For example,the display size of the content may be specified so that the displaysize of the content corresponding to the real object increases when theuser is closer to the real object, and the display size of the contentcorresponding to the real object decreases when the user is distant fromthe real object. In this configuration, the user can perceive thedisplay object corresponding to the content in association with the realobject in the real space and can experience the display object morerealistically.

Also, the display object corresponding to the content may be specifiedon the basis of the display size of the content. For example, thedisplay control unit 130 may specify one display object as a displayobject to be displayed on the basis of the display size of the contentamong a plurality of display objects corresponding to the content.

For example, the display control unit 130 may specify display objects sothat visibility of the display objects is different in accordance withthe display sizes. For example, the display objects may be specified sothat visibility of a second display object displayed with a seconddisplay size greater than a first display size is lower than visibilityof a first display object displayed with the first display size.

The visibility of the first display object and the second display objectdescribed above may be different, for example, by causing at least oneof a rendering method, a color, texture, transmittance, and a pattern tobe different. For example, in the embodiment, when a rendering methodfor a display object is polygon rendering, the visibility of the displayobject is high. When the rendering method is wire frame rendering, thevisibility of the display object is low. Also, when a display object hascolor (is expressed using colors other than white and black), thevisibility of the display object is high. When a display object ismonochrome (is expressed only with white and black), the visibility ofthe display object is low. Also, when a display object has texture, thevisibility of the display object is high. When a display object has notexture, the visibility of the display object is low. Also, whentransmittance of a display object is low (for example, when it isnon-transparent), the visibility of the display object is high. Whentransmittance of a display object is high (for example, when it issemitransparent), the visibility of the display object is low. Also,when a display object has a pattern, the visibility of the displayobject is high. When a display object has no pattern, the visibility ofthe display object is low.

Note that the method of causing the visibility to be different is notlimited to the foregoing methods. For example, a display object with lowvisibility may be generated by lessening color of the display object inaccordance with color of a background on which the display object issuperimposed. Also, a display object with low visibility may begenerated by blurring the display object in response to adjustment orthe like of depth of field in display. Also, a display object with lowvisibility may be generated by lowering lightness, color tone,vividness, or the like of the display object.

Also, hereinafter, a display object that has characteristics of highervisibility among characteristics of the above-described visibility isreferred to as a normal object, and a display object that hascharacteristics of lower visibility is referred to as a special objectin some cases. For example, the display control unit 130 may acquire anormal object from the storage unit 170 and generate (acquire) a specialobject by performing a process so that the normal object hascharacteristics of low visibility (performing a process of lowering thevisibility) described above.

When the visibility of a display object is high, the user can easilyview the display object and cannot view a background on which thedisplay object is superimposed (a region on which the display object issuperimposed in a background such as a real space) as easily. Incontrast, when the visibility of a display object is low, the usercannot view the display object as easily but can easily view abackground on which the display object is superimposed. Accordingly, inthe above-described configuration, for example, in a case in which theuser is unlikely to be hindered even when a display object with a smalldisplay size and high visibility is displayed, a display object withhigh visibility is displayed. On the other hand, in a case in which adisplay object with a large display size occupies most of the angle ofview of the user, a display object with low visibility is displayed andit is easy for the user to view a background on which the display objectis superimposed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which adisplay object is specified on the basis of a display size by thedisplay control unit 130. D12 and D14 illustrated in FIG. 3 indicate theangle of view of the user wearing the information processing device 1.

At the angle of view D12, a display object M1 specified on the basis ofa display size in the state of the angle of view D12 is displayed on thedisplay unit 180 to be superimposed on a real space background. Here,the display object M1 is an object subjected to polygon rendering andthe user cannot easily view a region on which the display object M1 issuperimposed in the real space background.

On the other hand, at the angle of view D14, a display object M2specified on the basis of a display size greater than the display sizein the state of the angle of view D12 is displayed on the display unit180 to be superimposed on the real space background. Here, the displayobject M2 is larger than the display object M1 and occupies most of theangle of view D14 of the user. However, the display object M2 is anobject subjected to wire frame rendering and the user can view the realspace background sufficiently even in a region on which the displayobject M2 is superimposed.

Note that the display control unit 130 according to the embodiment mayspecify the display object described above on the basis of determinationby the determination unit 160 to be described below. That is, thedisplay control unit 130 according to the embodiment may specify one ofthe first display object and the second display object as a displayobject to be displayed on the basis of the determination by thedetermination unit 160 to be described below. For example, in a case inwhich the determination unit 160 to be described below determines thatan object with low visibility should be displayed, the display controlunit 130 specifies a special object (an object with low visibility) as adisplay object corresponding to content and causes the display unit 180to display the special object.

Also, the display control unit 130 may specify a display objectcorresponding to content on the basis of a result of comparison betweena predetermined threshold and a display size performed by thedetermination unit 160. That is, the display control unit 130 accordingto the embodiment may specify one of the first display object and thesecond display object in response to the comparison between thepredetermined threshold and the display size performed by thedetermination unit 160 as a display object to be displayed. For example,in a case in which the display size is greater than the threshold, aspecial object may be specified as the display object corresponding tothe content. In a case in which the display size is equal to or lessthan the threshold, a normal object may be specified as the displayobject corresponding to the content.

(Sensor Unit)

The sensor unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 2 senses a user or anenvironment surrounding the user to acquire sensor information. Forexample, the sensor unit 140 may include various sensors such as amicrophone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, an accelerationsensor, a sense of vision (visual line, gazing point, focal point,nictation, or the like) sensor, a biological information (heart rate,body temperature, blood pressure, brain waves, or the like) sensor, agyro sensor, and an illumination sensor. Also, the sensor unit 140supplies the acquired information to the threshold setting unit 150 andthe determination unit 160.

(Threshold Setting Unit)

The threshold setting unit 150 sets a predetermined threshold fordetermination by the determination unit 160 to be described below. Forexample, the predetermined threshold set by the threshold setting unit150 is compared to a display size by the determination unit 160 to bedescribed below. Also, as described above, the display control unit 130specifies a display object corresponding to content on the basis of thecomparison result. Accordingly, the display object corresponding to thecontent is specified by comparing the predetermined threshold to thedisplay size.

The predetermined threshold may be set based on at least one of, forexample, user information regarding the user, content informationregarding the content, environment information indicating an environmentsurrounding the user, and device information regarding a device thatdisplays the display object.

Here, the user information may include, for example, behaviorinformation indicating a behavior of the user, motion informationindicating a motion of the user, biological information, gazinginformation, and the like. The behavior information is, for example,information indicating a current behavior of the user during stopping,walking, running, driving an automobile, stepping stairs, or the likeand may be recognized and acquired from sensor information or the likesuch as acceleration acquired by the sensor unit 140. Also, the motioninformation is information such as a movement speed, a movementdirection, movement acceleration, an approach to a position of content,or the position of the viewpoint and may be recognized and acquired fromsensor information or the like such as GPS data or acceleration acquiredby the sensor unit 140. Also, the biological information is informationsuch as a heart rate of the user, body temperature perspiration, a bloodpressure, a pulse rate, respiration, nictation, an eye movement, or abrain wave and may be acquired by the sensor unit 140. Also, the gazinginformation is information regarding gazing of the user, such as avisual line, a point of gazing, a focal point, or convergence of botheyes and may be acquired by the sensor unit 140.

Also, the content information may include information regarding, forexample, a position of the content, a display position of the content, acolor, animation characteristics, a content attribute, a contentresolution, a content size, and the like. The display position may be aposition at which the display object corresponding to the content isdisplayed on the display unit 180. Also, information regarding the colormay be information regarding a color of a normal object corresponding tothe content. Also, information regarding the animation characteristicsmay be, for example, information such as a movement speed, a movementdirection, a trajectory, an updating frequency (motion frequency), orthe like of the content. Information regarding the content attribute maybe, for example, information such as a kind of content (text data, animage, a game character, an effect, or the like), importance, orpriority. Also, information regarding the content resolution may beinformation regarding a resolution of the content. Also, informationregarding the content size may be information regarding a size of thecontent (which does not depend on the position of the content, theposition of the viewpoint, or the like) set for each piece of content.For example, the above-described content information may be stored inthe storage unit 170 and supplied to the threshold setting unit 150 viathe display control unit 130 or may be calculated by the display controlunit 130 and supplied to the threshold setting unit 150.

Also, the environment information may include, for example, informationsuch as a background, a peripheral situation, a place, illumination, analtitude, an atmospheric temperature, a wind direction, an air volume,and a time. Information regarding the background may be, for example,information such as a color (background color) of a background in thereal space or the like, a kind of information in the background, orimportance, may be acquired by the imaging unit 110, or may berecognized and acquired by the image recognition unit 120. Also,information regarding the peripheral situation may be informationindicating whether a person other than the user or an automobile is inthe periphery, may be information such as the degree of congestion orthe like, or may be recognized and acquired by the image recognitionunit 120. Also, information regarding the place may be, for example,information indicating characteristics of a place where the user islocated or the like, such as an indoor, outdoor, underwater, or hazardplace or may be information indicating a meaning of the place for theuser, such as a house, a company, a familiar place, or a place in whichthe user visits for the first time. The information regarding the placemay be acquired by the sensor unit 140 or may be recognized and acquiredby the image recognition unit 120. Also, information regardingillumination, an altitude, an atmospheric temperature, a wind direction,an air volume, and a time (for example, a GPS time) may be acquired bythe sensor unit 140.

Also, the device information is information regarding a device (in theembodiment, the information processing device 1) that performs displayor the like of the first display object and the second display objectand may include information regarding, for example, a display size, adisplay resolution, a battery, a 3D display function, a device position,and the like. The display size is a size of the display unit 180(display) in a real space and the display resolution is a resolution ofthe display unit 180. Also, information regarding the battery isinformation indicating a battery state (during charging or duringbattery use), a remaining battery, a battery capacity, or the like ofthe information processing device 1. Also, information regarding the 3Ddisplay function is information indicating presence or absence of the 3Ddisplay function of the information processing device 1, a parallaxamount appropriate for 3D display (a parallax amount at which the usercan stereoscopically view in comfort), a kind of 3D display scheme.Also, the device position is, for example, information indicating awearing position, an installation position, or the like of theinformation processing device 1.

Hereinafter, several examples of setting of the threshold by thethreshold setting unit 150 on the basis of the user information, thecontent information, the environment information, and the deviceinformation described above will be described.

For example, when a display object is close to a gazing point of theuser, the display object hinders the user with ease. Therefore, thethreshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold so that the thresholddecreases as a distance between the display position of the content andthe position of the gazing point included in the user informationdecreases. For example, when coordinates of the gazing point are (P₁x,P₁y) and coordinates of the display position are (P₂x, P₂y), a thresholdS_(th) is obtained as in the following expression using a coefficient afor changing the threshold in accordance with a minimum value S_(min) ofthe threshold.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Math}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack & \; \\{S_{th} = {{a\sqrt{\left( {{P_{2}x} - {P_{1}x}} \right)^{2} + \left( {{P_{2}y} - {P_{1}y}} \right)^{2}}} + S_{\min}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

Note that the threshold setting unit 150 may use the position of ascreen center as the position of the foregoing gazing point in a case inwhich information regarding the accurate position of the gazing pointcannot be obtained (for example, a sensor capable of acquiring thegazing point is not usable).

Also, as movement of the user is rapider, the angle of view of the useris narrowed, and thus the display object hinders the user with ease.Therefore, the threshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold so thatthe threshold decreases as the movement of the user is rapider. Forexample, the predetermined threshold may be set in accordance withbehavior information regarding movement of the user during stopping,walking, running, or the like included in the user information. Also,when v is magnitude of a movement speed included in the userinformation, the threshold S_(th) is obtained as in the followingexpression using a coefficient a′ for changing the threshold inaccordance with a speed (magnitude of the movement speed).

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Math}.\mspace{14mu} 2} \right\rbrack & \; \\{S_{th} = \frac{a^{\prime}}{\nu}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

Also, since a display object of which a motion is frequently updatedhinders the user with ease, the threshold setting unit 150 may set thethreshold so that the threshold decreases as an updating frequencyincluded in the content information is frequent.

Also, since a display object which moves at a slow speed and stays longwithin the angle of view of the user hinders the user with ease, thethreshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold so that the thresholddecreases as the magnitude of a movement speed of the content includedin the content information decreases.

Also, in a case in which there is important information in a background,a display object with high visibility hinders the user with ease whenthe display object is superimposed on the important information.Therefore, the threshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold on thebasis of information regarding a background included in the environmentinformation. For example, the threshold setting unit 150 may set thethreshold so that the threshold decreases as importance of informationincluded in the background is higher. Also, the threshold setting unit150 may set the threshold so that the threshold decreases as an area ofthe information with high importance included in the background islarger.

Also, when a display object with high visibility is displayed in a darkenvironment, there is concern that attention of the user may concentrateon the display object, which hinders work or the like. Therefore, thethreshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold on the basis ofinformation regarding illumination included in the environmentinformation. For example, the threshold setting unit 150 may set thethreshold so that the threshold decreases as illumination is lower (thecircumference of the user is dark).

Also, in a case in which the position of a viewpoint approaches theposition of content in response to movement of the user or amanipulation of the user, the user is considered to have an intention todesire to view a display object corresponding to the content. Further,in a case in which the position of the content is moved and approachesthe position of the viewpoint in accordance with a structure in anapplication (for example, random movement of a character that is thecontent), there is concern of the large display object being displayedagainst an intention of the user. Accordingly, the threshold settingunit 150 may change the threshold on the basis of a change in a distancebetween the position of the viewpoint of the user and the position ofthe content. For example, the threshold setting unit 150 may set thethreshold so that the threshold increases in a case in which theposition of the viewpoint and the position of the content are closerbecause of movement of the position of the viewpoint (the position ofthe viewpoint is moved toward the position of the content), and thethreshold decreases in a case in which the position of the viewpoint andthe position of the content are closer because of movement of theposition of the content (the position of the content is moved toward theposition of the viewpoint).

Also, the threshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold so that thethreshold increases in a case in which the visibility of a normal objectcorresponding to the content is not high on the basis of informationregarding the color or the like of the content included in the contentinformation. For example, in a case in which only white and block areincluded in the color of the content, the visibility of the normalobject corresponding to the content is not high and it is difficult tohinder the user. Therefore, the large threshold may be set.

The examples of the setting of the threshold by the threshold settingunit 150 have been described above, but the method of setting thethreshold by the threshold setting unit 150 is not limited to theforegoing examples. The threshold setting unit 150 may set the thresholdso that the threshold decreases in a case in which content hinders theuser with ease without being limited to the foregoing methods. In thisconfiguration, in a situation in which the content hinders the user withease, a display object (a special object) which has low visibility andis unlikely to hinder the user is displayed with ease.

(Determination Unit)

The determination unit 160 compares the predetermined threshold set bythe threshold setting unit 150 with a display size of content andsupplies a comparison result to the display control unit 130. Thedisplay size used for the comparison by the determination unit 160 maybe, for example, an area, may be a height, a width, or a ratio of aregion occupied by a display object corresponding to the content on thedisplay unit 180, or may be a value calculated by combining them.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine whether a display objectwith low visibility is displayed (specified) (whether display isswitched forcibly irrespective of a display size) on the basis of theuser information, the content information, the environment information,the device information, or the like described above. Hereinafter,several examples of the determination (hereinafter referred to asforcible switching determination) by the determination unit 160 will bedescribed.

For example, the determination unit 160 may determine that a displayobject with low visibility should be displayed in a case in which theimage recognition unit 120 recognizes that the user performs dangerouswork or high urgent work.

The determination unit 160 may determine that a display object with lowvisibility should be displayed in a case in which the image recognitionunit 120 recognizes that the user is in a dangerous place or situation.

Also, the determination unit 160 may perform the forcible switchingdetermination on the basis of information regarding a backgroundincluded in the environment information. For example, the determinationunit 160 may determine that a display object with low visibility shouldbe displayed in a case in which importance of information included inthe background is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine that a display objectwith low visibility should be displayed in a case in which a pluralityof display objects are displayed and a parallax occurring in the displayunit 180 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example,an appropriate parallax amount) because of a depth difference betweenthe display objects. In this case, the plurality of display objects mayall be switched to display objects with low visibility or only some ofthe display objects (for example, display objects or the like close to agazing point of the user) may be switched to display objects with lowvisibility.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine that a display objectwith low visibility should be displayed in a case in which contradictionoccurs in a depth relation between a real object of a real space andcontent. For example, in a case in which the content is located at aposition further back than the real object of the real space is, adisplay object corresponding to the content should be hidden by the realobject. However, the display unit 180 may display the display objectcorresponding to the content in front of the real object because of itsstructure. Accordingly, in a case in which the content is located at aposition further back than the real object of the real space is, thedetermination unit 160 may determine that a display object with lowvisibility should be displayed.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine that a display objectwith low visibility should be displayed on the basis of gazinginformation (information regarding a gazing point, a focal point, aconvergence of both eyes, or the like) included in the user information.For example, the determination unit 160 may use the gazing informationto determine whether the user gazes at the display object or gazes at abackground of the real space and determine that a display object withlow visibility should be displayed in a case in which the user gazes atthe background. Note that whether the user gazes at one of the displayobject displayed on the display unit 180 and the background of the realspace can be determined using, for example, information regarding afocal distance or a convergence distance of the user.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine that a display objectwith low visibility should be displayed on the basis of biologicalinformation included in the user information. For example, thedetermination unit 160 may use biological information to determine thata display object with low visibility should be displayed in a case inwhich it is determined that the user is nervous, impatient, or the like.In this configuration, it is possible to perform display control furthercorresponding to a situation of the user.

The examples of the forcible switching determination by thedetermination unit 160 have been described above, but the method of theforcible switching determination by the determination unit 160 is notlimited to the foregoing examples. The determination unit 160 maydetermine that a display object with low visibility (a display objectwhich is unlikely to hinder the user) should be displayed in a case inwhich content hinders the user with ease, without being limited to theforegoing methods.

(Storage Unit)

The storage unit 170 stores information regarding content (contentinformation) and information regarding display objects. The storage unit170 may store a display object (a normal object) with high visibilityand a display object (a special object) with low visibility as displaycontents corresponding to one piece of content and may supply thedisplay objects to the display control unit 130. Also, the storage unit170 may store only a normal object as a display object corresponding toone piece of content and the display control unit 130 may acquire(generate) a special object by performing a specific process on thenormal object supplied from the storage unit 170.

Content related to the content information stored in the storage unit170 may include, for example, text data, an image, a 3D model, aneffect, a marking, a silhouette, and the like. Hereinafter, severalexamples of content and display objects corresponding to the contentwill be described with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8.FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8 are explanatory diagrams illustratingexamples of content according to the embodiment. Note that displayobjects illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8 to be referredto below are all examples of normal objects (objects with highvisibility). The storage unit 170 may store special objects (objectswith lower visibility) corresponding to the content in addition to thenormal objects illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8.

For example, the content according to the embodiment may be an effect orthe like of emphasizing or presenting a motion of a real object oranother display object (hereinafter collectively referred to as anobject in some cases). For example, a display object N1 illustrated inFIG. 4A is a display object corresponding to content such as a traileffect indicating a trajectory of an object B1. Also, a display objectN2 illustrated in FIG. 4A is a display object corresponding to contentsuch as an effect of emphasizing a falling spot of the object B1. Also,a display object N3 illustrated in FIG. 4B is a display objetcorresponding to content such as an effect of presenting an object B3moving at a high speed.

Also, the content according to the embodiment may be a markingassociated with an object in a real space or a virtual space. Inparticular, the content according to the embodiment may be a markingindicating a warning of a specific object or emphasis on a position, anattribute, or the like of this object in a case in which this object isdetected. For example, a display object N4 illustrated in FIG. 5 is adisplay object corresponding to content such as a marking for a warningshowing that an object B4 within the angle of field of the user isdangerous or is moving at a high speed. Also, display objects N5 to N7illustrated in FIG. 6A are display objects corresponding to content suchas a marking for emphasizing the positions of objects (people) B5 to B7within the angle of field of the user. Also, display objects N8 to 10illustrated in FIG. 6B are display objects corresponding to content suchas a marking indicating attributes of objects (people) B8 to B10 withinthe angle of field of the user. FIG. 6B illustrates the fact that thedisplay object N8, and the display objects N9 and N10 are displayed withdifferent colors to indicate that the object (person) B8, and theobjects (people) B9 and B10 have different attributes. Note that theattribute indicated by the marking may be, for example, a relationshipwith a user (oneself) in a game, a sports team, or SNS, an age, a sex,or the like.

Also, the content according to the embodiment may be navigationindicating a sample of a behavior or a path in a real space or a virtualspace. For example, a display object N11 illustrated in FIG. 7 is adisplay object corresponding to content such as navigation indicating adirection in which the user travels. Also, a display object N12illustrated in FIG. 7 is a display object corresponding to content suchas navigation indicating a route (travel route) along which the usertravels. Note that the example of the navigation is not limited to theforegoing examples. For example, the navigation may be, for example,navigation indicating a sample (a line in golf or a pass trajectory insoccer) in sports.

Also, the content according to the embodiment may be a silhouettesuperimposed on an object or a sensing result related to this object. Adisplay object N13 illustrated in FIG. 8 is a display objectcorresponding to content such as a sensing result (thermography) relatedto a temperature distribution of an object (person) B11. Note that adisplay object N14 illustrated in FIG. 8 is a display object thatincludes text and an image indicating auxiliary information (legend)related to the sensing result.

The examples of the content according to the embodiment have beendescribed above with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8, butthe content according to the embodiment is not limited to the foregoingexamples. For example, the content according to the embodiment may be a3D model or an image indicating a game character, an item, a building,or the like in a game. Also, the content according to the embodiment maybe a 3D model or an image (for example, a so-called ghost car in aracing game) indicating a previous history in a game or navigation.Also, the content according to the embodiment may be an object such as asurrounding person or the like, a manual regarding this object, or textdata indicating property information (a name, a speed, an attribute, orthe like), or the like. Note that a display position of the content maybe a position superimposed on this object or may be a position near theobject which is not superimposed on the object. Also, the contentaccording to the embodiment may be a virtual advertisement, a banner, orthe like for which any position of a space is set as a display position.

(Display Unit)

The display unit 180 is an optical see-through display (an example of atransmissive display unit) that displays a display object. For example,the display unit 180 may be a display device that is worn on the head ofthe user for use. Also, the display unit 180 may be a display devicethat enables the user to simultaneously view an image of a real spaceand a virtual object (for example, at least one of the first displayobject and the second display object). Hereinafter, an example of aconfiguration of the display unit 180 will be described with referenceto FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the example ofthe configuration of the display unit 180.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the display unit 180 according to theembodiment includes a reflective spatial light modulation unit 182, acollimating optical system 184 including a finder lens and the like, anda hologram type light-guiding plate (a wave guide) 186. Thelight-guiding plate 186 includes optical surfaces 1862 and 1864 thatface each other in a depth direction of a pupil 22 of the user andreflective volume hologram gratings 1866 and 1868 that are installed onthe optical surface 1864 and have a uniform interference fringe pitch ofa hologram surface regardless of a position.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, light emitted when the spatial lightmodulation unit 182 modulates the image is set as a parallel light fluxgroup in which angles of field are mutually different by the collimatingoptical system 184 to be incident on the light-guiding plate 186 fromthe optical surface 1862. The light incident on the light-guiding plate186 is incident on the reflective volume hologram grating 1866 and isdiffracted and reflected by the reflective volume hologram grating 1866.The light diffracted and reflected by the reflective volume hologramgrating 1866 is guided while being repeatedly totally reflected betweenthe optical surfaces 1862 and 1864 inside the light-guiding plate 186 totravel toward the reflective volume hologram grating 1868. The lightincident on the reflective volume hologram grating 1868 deviates from atotal reflection condition by diffractive reflection, is emitted fromthe light-guiding plate 186, and is incident on the pupil 22 of theuser.

Note that the configuration of the transmissive display unit 180 is notlimited to the foregoing example. For example, the display unit 180 mayhave a configuration in which a reflected image is displayed using ahalf mirror or the like or may have a configuration in which an image isdisplayed by radiating light to retinas of the user.

1-3. Operation of First Embodiment

The example of the configuration of the information processing device 1according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed above. Next, an example of an operation of the informationprocessing device 1 according to the embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 10 particularly focusing on an operation of specifyinga display object by the display control unit 130, the threshold settingunit 150, and the determination unit 160. FIG. 10 is a flowchart fordescribing an example of an operation of the information processingdevice 1 according to the embodiment.

First, the threshold setting unit 150 sets a threshold on the basis ofuser information, content information, environment information, deviceinformation, or the like (S102). Subsequently, the determination unit160 determines whether a display object with low visibility should bedisplayed, irrespective of a display size (forcible switchingdetermination) (S104).

In a case in which it is determined that the display object with lowvisibility should be displayed in the forcible switching determination(YES in S104), the display control unit 130 specifies a special objectas a display object to be displayed and causes the display unit 180 todisplay the special object (S112).

Conversely, in a case in which it is not determined that the displayobject with low visibility should be displayed in the forcible switchingdetermination (NO in S104), the display control unit 130 calculates adisplay size of content (S106).

Subsequently, the determination unit 160 compares the threshold set bythe threshold setting unit 150 to the display size (S108). In a case inwhich the display size is equal to or less than the threshold (NO inS108), the display control unit 130 specifies a normal object as adisplay object to be displayed and causes the display unit 180 todisplay the normal object (S110). Conversely, in a case in which thedisplay size is greater than the threshold (YES in S108), the displaycontrol unit 130 specifies the special object as the display object tobe displayed and causes the display unit 180 to display the specialobject (S112).

Note that to display the display object in accordance with the displaysize in the current state, the above-described series of processes maybe repeatedly performed periodically or as soon as the series ofprocesses ends.

1-4. Advantageous Effects of First Embodiment

The first embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.According to the embodiment, by specifying a display object on the basisof a display size of content, it is possible to prevent occurrence of asituation in which it is difficult for the user to view a background.For example, in a case in which the display size is greater than thepredetermined threshold, a display object with low visibility (forexample, a semitransparent display object) is displayed, and thus theuser can view the background even in a region on which the displayobject is superimposed on the background.

2. Second Embodiment 2-1. Overview of Second Embodiment

In the above-described first embodiment, the example in which thedisplay object specified on the basis of the display size of the contentis displayed has been described. On the other hand, an example of aninformation processing device that causes a display object specified onthe basis of a positional relation between the position of content andthe position of a viewpoint to be displayed will be described accordingto a second embodiment.

In the information processing device according to the second embodiment,occurrence of a situation in which it is difficult for a user to view abackground is prevented by performing display control such that adisplay object with low visibility is displayed in a case in which theposition of content and the position of a viewpoint have a closepositional relation. Hereinafter, a configuration and an operation ofthe second embodiment in which the foregoing advantageous effects areobtained will be sequentially described in detail.

2-2. Configuration of Second Embodiment

The information processing device 1 according to the second embodimentof the present disclosure is a glasses type display device that includesa transmissive display unit like the information processing device 1according to the first embodiment. Since the information processingdevice 1 according to the embodiment has the configuration similar to apart of the information processing device 1 according to the firstembodiment, the description thereof will be appropriately omitted.

The outer appearance of the information processing device 1 according tothe embodiment is similar to the outer appearance of the informationprocessing device 1 according to the first embodiment described withreference to FIG. 1. Also, the information processing device 1 accordingto the embodiment includes the imaging unit 110, the image recognitionunit 120, the display control unit 130, the sensor unit 140, thethreshold setting unit 150, the determination unit 160, the storage unit170, and the display unit 180, like the information processing device 1according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2. Since theconfigurations of the imaging unit 110, the image recognition unit 120,and the display unit 180 according to the embodiment are substantiallythe same as the configurations of the imaging unit 110, the imagerecognition unit 120, the sensor unit 140, and the display unit 180according to the first embodiment, the description thereof will beomitted. Hereinafter, the display control unit 130, the thresholdsetting unit 150, the determination unit 160, and the storage unit 170according to the embodiment will be described focusing on differencesfrom the display control unit 130, the threshold setting unit 150, thedetermination unit 160, and the storage unit 170 according to the firstembodiment.

(Display Control Unit)

The display control unit 130 according to the embodiment causes thetransmissive display unit 180 to display a display object on the basisof 3-dimensional information of the real space supplied from the imagerecognition unit 120, object information, environment information, andthe like, like the display control unit 130 according to the firstembodiment.

The display control unit 130 according to the embodiment specifies adisplay object which the display unit 180 is caused to display on thebasis of a positional relation between the position of content definedin a virtual space and the position of a viewpoint defined in thevirtual space to generate a rendering image of the content. For example,the display control unit 130 performs display control such that a firstvirtual object corresponding to the content is contained in therendering image of the content to be displayed in a case in which theposition of the content and the position of the viewpoint are determinedto have a first positional relation, and a second virtual objectcorresponding to the content is contained in the rendering image to bedisplayed in a case in which the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint are determined to have a second positionalrelation. Also, here, in a case in which a distance between the positionof the content and the position of the viewpoint in the secondpositional relation is shorter than a distance between the position ofthe content and the position of the viewpoint in the first positionalrelation, the display control unit 130 according to the embodiment mayspecify the display object so that the visibility of the second displayobject is lower than the visibility of the first display object.

Note that in a case in which the position of the content is set in thevirtual space in association with an object in the real space, theposition of the viewpoint may be specified on the basis of the positionof the user in the real space. Also, as described in the firstembodiment, the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint may be expressed as coordinates values in a coordinate systemset in the virtual space.

For example, the display control unit 130 may perform the foregoingdisplay control by specifying a display object corresponding to thecontent on the basis of a distance between the position of the contentand the position of the viewpoint (hereinafter simply referred to as adistance in some cases). In this configuration, the display control unit130 can cause an appropriate display object to be displayed inaccordance with the distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint.

Also, like the first embodiment, the visibility of the first displayobject and the second display object according to the embodimentdescribed above may be different, for example, by causing at least oneof a rendering method, a color, a texture, transmittance, and a patternto be different. Since the foregoing characteristics and the relationbetween the high visibility and the low visibility have been describedin the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted here.

Also, in the embodiment, the visibility of the first display object andthe second display object according to the embodiment described abovemay be different, for example, by causing the first display object andthe second display object to be displayed with different sizes. Forexample, the first display object may be displayed with a first size(for example, a display size specified from the position of the content,the position of the viewpoint, or the like) and the second displayobject may be displayed with a second size less than the first size.Also, an object obtained by partially omitting the first display objectmay be the second display object. For example, the visibility of thefirst display object and the second display object may be different bycausing an icon and a descriptive sentence to be contained in the firstdisplay object and causing only an icon to be contained in the seconddisplay object.

For example, the display control unit 130 according to the embodimentmay perform display control such that a display object with hightransmittance is displayed as the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint are closer to each other.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an overviewof display control by the display control unit 130 according to thesecond embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, in a case inwhich a distance between a user U1 and content is a distance D3, thedisplay control unit 130 may specify a non-transparent normal object M26and may cause the display unit 180 to display the normal object M26.Also, as illustrated in FIG. 11, in a case in which the distance betweenthe user U1 and the content is a distance D2 shorter than the distanceD3, the display control unit 130 may specify a low semitransparentspecial object M24 with low visibility and may cause the display unit180 to display the special object M24. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 11,in a case in which the distance between the user U1 and the content is adistance D1 further shorter than the distance D2, the display controlunit 130 may specify a full-transparent special object M24 with lowervisibility and may cause the display unit 180 to display the specialobject M24 (may cause the display unit 180 not to display the specialobject). That is, in a non-contact state of the display objectscorresponding to the user U1 and the content, the visibility of thedisplay object corresponding to the content may be lowered as thedistance between the user U1 and the content is closer.

Note that the display control unit 130 according to the embodiment mayspecify the display object as described above on the basis ofdetermination by the determination unit 160 to be described below. Forexample, in a case in which the determination unit 160 to be describedbelow determines that an object with low visibility should be displayed,the display control unit 130 specifies a special object (an object withlow visibility) as a display object corresponding to content and causesthe display unit 180 to display the special object.

Also, the display control unit 130 according to the embodiment mayspecify the display object corresponding to the content on the basis ofa comparison result of the distance with the predetermined thresholdperformed by the determination unit 160. For example, in a case in whichthe distance is greater than the threshold, a normal object may bespecified as the display object corresponding to the content. In a casein the display size is equal to or less than the threshold, a specialobject may be specified as the display object corresponding to thecontent.

(Threshold Setting Unit)

The threshold setting unit 150 according to the embodiment sets apredetermined threshold for determination by the determination unit 160to be described below. For example, the predetermined threshold set bythe threshold setting unit 150 is compared to the distance between theposition of content and the position of the viewpoint by thedetermination unit 160 to be described below. Also, as described above,the display control unit 130 specifies a display object corresponding tocontent on the basis of the comparison result. Accordingly, the displayobject corresponding to the content is specified by comparing thepredetermined threshold to the distance.

The predetermined threshold may be set based on at least one of, forexample, user information regarding the user, content informationregarding the content, environment information indicating an environmentsurrounding the user, and device information regarding a device thatdisplays the display object. Since the user information, the contentinformation, the environment information, and the device informationhave been described in the first embodiment, the description thereofwill be omitted here. Hereinafter, several examples of setting of thethreshold by the threshold setting unit 150 on the basis of the userinformation, the content information, the environment information, andthe device information will be described.

For example, when a content size is large, the angle of view of the useris hindered with ease despite a large distance. Therefore, the thresholdsetting unit 150 may set the threshold so that the threshold is largeras the content size included in the content information is large. FIG.12 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a thresholdsetting example based on a content size. For example, when S is thecontent size (a height or a width) and θ is a display field angle (aheight direction or a width direction) of a display device (the displayunit 180), a distance d in which a display object with the content sizeis within the field angle is obtained as in the following expression.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Math}.\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack & \; \\{d = \frac{S}{2\;\tan\;\frac{\theta}{2}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

As illustrated in FIG. 12, when a distance between a user U2 and contentis equal to or greater than d obtained in Expression (3), a displayobject M28 with a content size S can be entirely displayed within thedisplay field angle of the display unit 180. Accordingly, for example,the distance d may be set as the threshold or a value obtained by addinga predetermined value to the distance d or a value obtained bymultiplying the distance d by a predetermined value may be set as thethreshold. Note that a threshold setting method based on the contentsize is not limited to the foregoing examples. For example, thethreshold setting unit 150 may calculate a distance in which the displayobject occupies a predetermined ratio on the display unit 180 on thebasis of the content size and may set the distance as the threshold.

Also, the threshold setting unit 150 may set the threshold so that thethreshold is different between cases in which the position of thecontent and the position of the viewpoint are close and distant on thebasis of motion information included in the user information. Forexample, the threshold may be set so that the threshold decreases in acase in which the user is closer to the content, and the thresholdincreases in a case in which the user is more away from the content. Inthis configuration, in a case in which the distance between the positionof the content and the position of the viewpoint is changed frequently,it is possible to prevent the display object from being frequentlyswitched (seen to flicker).

The threshold setting examples by the threshold setting unit 150according to the embodiment has been described, but the thresholdsetting method by the threshold setting unit 150 is not limited to theforegoing examples. The threshold setting unit 150 may set the thresholdso that the threshold increases in a case in which the content hindersthe user with ease, without being limited to the foregoing method. Thatis, the threshold setting unit 150 according to the embodiment can setthe threshold in accordance with a method similar to the thresholdsetting example described in the first embodiment. For example, thethreshold setting unit 150 according to the embodiment may set thethreshold so that the threshold of the distance according to theembodiment increases in a case in which a case similar to the thresholdsetting example in which the threshold of the display size decreasesaccording to the first embodiment. In this configuration, it is easy todisplay a display object (special object) which has low visibility andis unlikely to hinder the user in a situation in which the contenthinders the user with ease.

Note that the threshold setting unit 150 according to the embodiment mayset a plurality of thresholds. In this case, display objects of whichvisibility is different in a plurality of stages may be prepared inaccordance with the number of thresholds (the display objects may bestored in the storage unit 170 or may be generated by the displaycontrol unit 130). For example, in a case in which two thresholds areset, as described with reference to FIG. 11, three display objects (anormal object and two special objects) are prepared. Thus, finer displaycontrol can be performed in accordance with a distance.

(Determination Unit)

The determination unit 160 according to the embodiment compares apredetermined threshold set by the threshold setting unit 150 to adistance between the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint and supplies a comparison result to the display control unit130.

Also, the determination unit 160 may determine whether a display objectwith low visibility is displayed (specified) (display is switchedforcibly irrespective of a distance) on the basis of the userinformation, the content information, the environment information, thedevice information, or the like described above. The determination(hereinafter referred to as forcible switching determination in somecases) by the determination unit 160 according to the embodiment may beperformed similarly to the example of the forcible switchingdetermination described in the first embodiment.

(Storage Unit)

The storage unit 170 according to the embodiment stores informationregarding content and information regarding a display object similarlyto the storage unit 170 according to the first embodiment. The storageunit 170 may store a display object with high visibility (a normalobject) and a display object with low visibility (a special object) asdisplay objects corresponding to one piece of content and may supply thedisplay objects to the display control unit 130. For example, thestorage unit 170 according to the embodiment may store a display objectincluding an icon and a descriptive sentence as a normal objectcorresponding to certain content and may store a display objectincluding only an icon as a special object.

Also, the storage unit 170 may store only a normal object as a displayobject corresponding to one piece of content and the display controlunit 130 may perform a specific process on the normal object suppliedfrom the storage unit 170 to acquire (generate) a special object.

Content related to the content information stored in the storage unit170 are similar to the examples of the content described with referenceto FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 8 in the first embodiment and mayinclude, for example, text data, an image, a 3D model, an effect, amarking, a silhouette, and the like.

2-3. Operation of Second Embodiment

The example of the configuration of the information processing device 1according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed above. Next, examples of two operations of the informationprocessing device 1 according to the embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 13 and 14 particularly focusing on operations relatedto display control and specifying of a display object by the displaycontrol unit 130, the threshold setting unit 150, and the determinationunit 160.

Operation Example 1

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for describing an example of an operation(operation example 1) of the information processing device 1 accordingto the embodiment. First, the threshold setting unit 150 sets athreshold on the basis of user information, content information,environment information, device information, or the like (S202).Subsequently, the determination unit 160 determines whether a displayobject with low visibility should be displayed, irrespective of adistance (forcible switching determination) (S204).

In a case in which it is determined that the display object with lowvisibility should be displayed in the forcible switching determination(YES in S204), the display control unit 130 specifies a special objectas a display object to be displayed and causes the display unit 180 todisplay the special object (S212).

Conversely, in a case in which it is not determined that the displayobject with low visibility should be displayed in the forcible switchingdetermination (NO in S204), the display control unit 130 calculates adistance between the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint of content (S206).

Subsequently, the determination unit 160 compares the threshold set bythe threshold setting unit 150 to the distance (S208). In a case inwhich the distance is greater than the threshold (YES in S208), thedisplay control unit 130 specifies a normal object as a display objectto be displayed and causes the display unit 180 to display the normalobject (S210). Conversely, in a case in which the distance is less thanor equal to the threshold (NO in S208), the display control unit 130specifies the special object as the display object to be displayed andcauses the display unit 180 to display the special object (S212).

Note that to display the display object in accordance with thepositional relation between the position of the content and the positionof the viewpoint in the current state, the above-described series ofprocesses may be repeatedly performed periodically or as soon as theseries of processes ends.

Operation Example 1

The example in which one predetermined threshold is set has beendescribed in Operation Example 1 described with reference to FIG. 13.Hereinafter, an example of an operation in a case in which a pluralityof predetermined thresholds are set will be described as OperationExample 2. As described above, in a case in which a plurality ofthresholds are set, display objects of which visibility is different ina plurality of stages are prepared in accordance with the number ofthresholds. In this example of the operation, an example in which twothresholds (a threshold a and a threshold b) are set display control isperformed using three display objects with different visibility (anormal object, a special object A, and a special object B) will bedescribed. Note that the threshold a is greater than the threshold b andthe special object A is a display object that has lower visibility thanthe normal object and higher visibility than the special object B. Forexample, the normal object may be a non-transparent display object, thespecial object A may be a semitransparent display object, and thespecial object B may be a display object with higher transmittance thanthe transmittance of the special object A. FIG. 14 is a flowchart fordescribing another operation example (Operation Example 2) of theinformation processing device 1 according to the embodiment.

First, the threshold setting unit 150 sets two thresholds (threshold aand threshold b) on the basis of user information, content information,environment information, device information, or the like (S252).Subsequently, the determination unit 160 determines whether a displayobject with low visibility should be displayed, irrespective of adistance (forcible switching determination) (S254).

In a case in which it is determined that the display object with lowvisibility should be displayed in the forcible switching determination(YES in S254), the display control unit 130 specifies a special object Bas a display object to be displayed and causes the display unit 180 todisplay the special object B (S266).

Conversely, in a case in which it is not determined that the displayobject with low visibility should be displayed in the forcible switchingdetermination (NO in S254), the display control unit 130 calculates adistance between the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint of content (S256).

Subsequently, the determination unit 160 compares the threshold a set bythe threshold setting unit 150 to the distance (S258). In a case inwhich the distance is greater than the threshold a (YES in S258), thedisplay control unit 130 specifies a normal object as a display objectto be displayed and causes the display unit 180 to display the normalobject (S260). Conversely, in a case in which the distance is less thanor equal to the threshold a (NO in S258), the determination unit 160compares the threshold b set by the threshold setting unit 150 to thedistance (S262). In a case in which the distance is greater than thethreshold b (YES in S262), the display control unit 130 specifies aspecial object A as a display object to be displayed and causes thedisplay unit 180 to display the special object A (S264). Conversely, ina case in which the distance is less than or equal to the threshold b(NO in S262), the display control unit 130 specifies the special objectB as the display object to be displayed and causes the display unit 180to display the special object B (S266).

Note that to display the display object in accordance with thepositional relation between the position of the content and the positionof the viewpoint in the current state, the above-described series ofprocesses may be repeatedly performed periodically or as soon as theseries of processes ends.

2-4. Advantageous Effects of Second Embodiment

The first embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.According to the embodiment, by specifying a display object on the basisof the positional relation between the position of content and theposition of viewpoint, it is possible to prevent occurrence of asituation in which the user is unlikely to view a background.

3. Hardware Configuration Example

Each embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.Information processing such as the display control process, thethreshold setting process, and the determination process described aboveis realized in cooperation of software and hardware of the informationprocessing device 1 to be described below.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the information processing device 1. As shown in FIG.15, the information processing device 1 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM)13, an input device 14, an output device 15, a storage device 16, animaging device 17, and a communication device 18.

The CPU 11 functions as an operation processing device and a controldevice, and controls the overall operation in the information processingdevice 1 in accordance with various programs. The CPU 11 may also be amicroprocessor. The ROM 12 stores programs, operation parameters and thelike used by the CPU 11. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs used inthe execution of the CPU 11, parameters that change appropriately inthat execution, and the like. These are connected together by a host busincluding a CPU bus or the like. The functions of the image recognitionunit 120, the display control unit 130, the threshold setting unit 150,and the determination unit 160 are realized mainly through softwareworking in cooperation with the CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13.

The input device 14 includes inputting means such as a mouse, akeyboard, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, a switch, and a lever,for the user to input information, an input control circuit thatgenerates an input signal on the basis of input by the user, and outputsthe generated input signal to the CPU 11, and the like. The user of theinformation processing device 1 is able to input various kinds of dataand direct processing operations with respect to the informationprocessing device 1, by operating the input device 14.

The output device 15 includes a display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) device, an OLED device, and a lamp, for example.Furthermore, the output device 15 includes a voice output device such asa speaker and headphones. For example, the display device displays acaptured image, a generated image or the like. On the other hand, thevoice output device converts voice data and the like into voice, andthen outputs the voice. The output device 15 corresponds to the displayunit 180 described with reference to FIG. 2.

The storage device 16 is a device for storing data. The storage device16 may include a storage medium, a recording device that records data ina storage medium, a readout device that reads out data from a storagemedium, a deletion device that deletes data recorded in a storagemedium, and the like. The storage device 16 stores programs executed bythe CPU 11 and various kinds of data. The storage device 16 correspondsto the storage unit 170 described with reference to FIG. 2.

The imaging device 17 includes an imaging optical system such as ashooting lens which collects light and a zoom lens, and a signalconversion device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and acomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The imaging opticalsystem collects light emitted from a subject to form a subject image ata signal converting unit, and the signal conversion device converts theformed subject image into an electrical image signal. The imaging device17 corresponds to the imaging unit 110 described with reference to FIG.2.

The communication device 18 is a communication interface including acommunication device for connecting to the communication network, or thelike, for example. Also, the communication device 18 may include awireless local area network (LAN) compatible communication device, along term evolution (LTE) compliant communication device, a wiredcommunication device that performs communication via a wire, or aBluetooth (registered trademark) communication device.

4. Conclusion

It is possible to prevent occurrence of the situation in which the useris unlikely to view a background according to each embodiment of thepresent disclosure, as described above.

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have beendescribed above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above examples. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the example in which the display size or the distance iscompared to the threshold, the display object displayed in accordancewith the comparison result is specified, and the display object isswitched has been described in the foregoing embodiments, but thepresent technology is not limited to this example. For example, when adisplay object is switched, the display object before the switching andthe display object after the switching may be displayed while beingsubjected to alpha blending. Also, the display control may be performedsuch that the display object before the switching is faded out, thedisplay object before the switching is subsequently faded in. Also, theforegoing alpha blending, fading-out, and fading-in operations may beperformed in response to a change in the display size or the distance ormay be performed in response to a temporal change. Also, the displaycontrol unit may generate (specify) the display object by changing aparameter related to the visibility (transmittance, lightness, a color,or the like) in accordance with a change in the display size or thedistance.

Also, the display control based on the display size or the distancerelated to one piece of content has been described in the foregoingembodiments, but the present technology is not limited to this example.For example, in a case in which there are a plurality of pieces ofcontent, the comparison determination or the like related to the displaysize or the distance may be performed independently for each piece ofcontent or the comparison determination may be performed using a sumvalue, a maximum value, a minimum value, an average value, or the likeof a plurality of display sizes or distances.

Also, the example in which a display object is displayed on a glassestype display device including an optical see-through display unit hasbeen described in the foregoing embodiments, but the present technologyis not limited to this example. For example, the present technology maybe applied to an information processing device (a video see-through typehead-mounted display or the like) that causes a display unit to displayan image generated by superimposing a display object on an image of areal space (background) acquired by an imaging unit. Also, the presenttechnology may be applied to a head-up display that causes an image tobe displayed on a windshield or the like of an automobile or the presenttechnology may be applied to an installed display device. Also, thepresent technology may be applied to an information processing devicethat renders an image in which a display object is disposed in a virtualspace using the visual space as a background and causes anon-transmissive display unit to display a rendered image. Note that theexample in which a display object is displayed using a real space as abackground has been described in the foregoing embodiments. However, ina case in which the present technology is applied to an informationprocessing device that causes a non-transmissive display unit to displayan image, the display object may be displayed using the virtual space asthe background.

Also, in the foregoing embodiment, the example in which the informationprocessing device performing the display control includes the displayunit has been described, but the present technology is not limited tothis example. For example, the information processing device performingthe display control and a display device including the display unit maybe different devices.

Also, the example in which the information processing device performingthe display control includes the imaging unit, the image recognitionunit, the threshold setting unit, the storage unit, and the like hasbeen described in the foregoing embodiments, but the present technologyis not limited to this example. For example, the information processingdevice performing the display control may perform the display control byreceiving information regarding a captured image, an image recognitionresult, a display size, a distance between the position of the contentand the position of the viewpoint, a threshold, content, a displayobject, and the like directly from another device or via a network orthe like.

Also, the respective steps in the embodiment described above do notnecessarily have to be performed chronologically in the orderillustrated in the flowchart. For example, the respective steps in theprocess of the embodiment described above may also be performed in adifferent order than the order illustrated in the flowchart, or they maybe performed in parallel.

Also, a computer program for causing the hardware such as the CPU, ROM,and RAM built in the information processing device 1 to demonstrate thefunction of the information processing device 1 described above can alsobe created. Also, a storage medium that has the computer program storedtherein is also provided. Also, the number of computers executing thecomputer program is not particularly limited. For example, the computerprogram may be executed in cooperation by a plurality of computers (forexample, a plurality of servers or the like). Note that a singlecomputer or a plurality of computers in cooperation is referred to as a“computer system.”

Further, the effects described in this specification are merelyillustrative or exemplified effects, and are not limitative. That is,with or in the place of the above effects, the technology according tothe present disclosure may achieve other effects that are clear to thoseskilled in the art from the description of this specification.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

An information processing device including:

a display control unit configured to perform display control such that afirst virtual object corresponding to content is contained in arendering image of the content to be displayed in a case in which aposition of the content defined in a virtual space and a position of aviewpoint defined in the virtual space to generate the rendering imageare determined to have a first positional relation, and a second virtualobject corresponding to the content is contained in the rendering imageto be displayed in a case in which the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint are determined to have a second positionalrelation,

in which a distance between the position of the content and the positionof the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorter than adistance between the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint in the first positional relation, and visibility of the secondvirtual object is lower than visibility of the first virtual object.

(2)

The information processing device according to (1), in which the displaycontrol unit performs the display control by specifying a virtual objectcorresponding to the content on a basis of a distance between theposition of the content and the position of the viewpoint.

(3)

The information processing device according to (2), in which, betweenthe first virtual object and the second virtual object, at least one ofa rendering method, a color, a texture, transmittance, and a pattern isdifferent.

(4)

The information processing device according to (2) or (3), in which thevirtual object corresponding to the content is specified further on abasis of user information.

(5)

The information processing device according to (4), in which the userinformation includes at least one of behavior information indicating abehavior of a user, motion information indicating a motion of the user,biological information, and gazing information.

(6)

The information processing device according to any one of (2) to (5), inwhich the virtual object corresponding to the content is specifiedfurther on a basis of content information regarding the content.

(7)

The information processing device according to (6), in which the contentinformation includes at least one piece of information among a displayposition, a color, an animation characteristic, a content attribute, acontent resolution, and a content size.

(8)

The information processing device according to any one of (2) to (7), inwhich the virtual object corresponding to the content is specifiedfurther on a basis of environment information indicating an environmentsurrounding a user.

(9)

The information processing device according to (8), in which theenvironment information includes at least one of a background,illumination, and a place.

(10)

The information processing device according to any one of (2) to (9), inwhich the virtual object corresponding to the content is specifiedfurther on a basis of device information regarding a device thatdisplays the virtual object.

(11)

The information processing device according to (10), in which the deviceinformation includes at least one piece of information among a displaysize, a display resolution, a battery, a 3D display function, and adevice position.

(12)

The information processing device according to any one of (2) to (11),in which the virtual object corresponding to the content is specified bycomparing a predetermined threshold to the distance.

(13)

The information processing device according to (12), in which aplurality of the predetermined thresholds are set.

(14)

The information processing device according to (12), in which thepredetermined threshold is set on a basis of at least one of userinformation, content information, environment information, and deviceinformation.

(15)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (14),in which the content includes at least one of text data, an image, a 3Dmodel, an effect, a marking, and a silhouette.

(16)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (15),in which the position of the content is specified on a basis of asensing result of a real object.

(17)

The information processing device according to (16), in which a visualline direction used for rendering of the rendering image is specified inaccordance with a detection result of a position or an attitude of adisplay unit that displays the rendering image.

(18)

The information processing device according to (17), in which thedisplay control unit causes a transmissive display unit to display thefirst virtual object or the second virtual object.

(19)

An information processing method including:

performing, by an information processing device, display control suchthat a first virtual object corresponding to content is contained in arendering image of the content to be displayed in a case in which aposition of the content defined in a virtual space and a position of aviewpoint defined in the virtual space to generate the rendering imageare determined to have a first positional relation, and a second virtualobject corresponding to the content is contained in the rendering imageto be displayed in a case in which the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint are determined to have a second positionalrelation,

in which a distance between the position of the content and the positionof the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorter than adistance between the position of the content and the position of theviewpoint in the first positional relation, and visibility of the secondvirtual object is lower than visibility of the first virtual object.

(20)

A program causing a computer system to realize a display controlfunction of performing display control such that a first virtual objectcorresponding to content is contained in a rendering image of thecontent to be displayed in a case in which a position of the contentdefined in a virtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in thevirtual space to generate the rendering image are determined to have afirst positional relation, a second virtual object corresponding to thecontent is contained in the rendering image to be displayed in a case inwhich the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint aredetermined to have a second positional relation, a distance between theposition of the content and the position of the viewpoint in the secondpositional relation is shorter than a distance between the position ofthe content and the position of the viewpoint in the first positionalrelation, and visibility of the second virtual object is lower thanvisibility of the first virtual object.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 information processing device-   110 imaging unit-   120 image recognition unit-   130 display control unit-   140 sensor unit-   150 threshold setting unit-   160 determination unit-   170 storage unit-   180 display unit-   182 spatial light modulation unit-   184 collimating optical system-   186 light-guiding plate

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing device,comprising: a display control unit configured to: control display of afirst virtual object corresponding to content based on a firstpositional relation between a position of the content defined in avirtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in the virtualspace, wherein the content corresponds to information of a real objectin a real space; control display of a second virtual objectcorresponding to the content based on a second positional relationbetween the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint,wherein a first distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorterthan a second distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the first positional relation, and a firstvisibility of the second virtual object is lower than a secondvisibility of the first virtual object; and generate a rendering imageof the content, wherein the rendering image of the content includes oneof the first virtual object or the second virtual object based on theposition of the content in the virtual space.
 2. The informationprocessing device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unitis further configured to: specify a virtual object corresponding to thecontent based on a third distance between the position of the contentand the position of the viewpoint; and control display of the firstvirtual object and the second virtual object based on the specifiedvirtual object.
 3. The information processing device according to claim2, wherein, between the first virtual object and the second virtualobject, at least one of a rendering method, a color, a texture,transmittance, or a pattern is different.
 4. The information processingdevice according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit is furtherconfigured to specify the virtual object corresponding to the contentbased on user information.
 5. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the user information includes at least oneof behavior information indicating a user behavior, motion informationindicating a user motion, biological information, or gazing information.6. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein thedisplay control unit is further configured to specify the virtual objectcorresponding to the content based on content information regarding thecontent.
 7. The information processing device according to claim 6,wherein the content information includes at least one of a displayposition, a color, an animation characteristic, a content attribute, acontent resolution, or a content size.
 8. The information processingdevice according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit is furtherconfigured to specify the virtual object corresponding to the contentbased on environment information indicating an environment surrounding auser.
 9. The information processing device according to claim 8, whereinthe environment information includes at least one of a background,illumination, or a place.
 10. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the display control unit is furtherconfigured to specify the virtual object corresponding to the contentbased on device information regarding a device that displays the virtualobject.
 11. The information processing device according to claim 10,wherein the device information includes at least one of a display size,a display resolution, a battery, a 3D display function, or a deviceposition.
 12. The information processing device according to claim 2,further comprising a determination unit configured to compare athreshold to the first distance and the second distance, wherein thedisplay control unit is further configured to specify the virtual objectbased on the comparison.
 13. The information processing device accordingto claim 12, further comprising a threshold setting unit configured toset a plurality of thresholds.
 14. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein the threshold setting unit is furtherconfigured to set the threshold based on at least one of userinformation, content information, environment information, or deviceinformation.
 15. The information processing device according to claim 1,wherein the content includes at least one of text data, an image, a 3Dmodel, an effect, a marking, or a silhouette.
 16. The informationprocessing device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unitis further configured to specify the position of the content based on asensing result of the real object.
 17. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 16, further comprising: a display unit configured todisplay the rendering image; and a sensor unit configured to detect atleast one of a position of the display unit or an attitude of thedisplay unit, wherein a visual line direction used to render therendering image is specified based on the detected position or thedetected attitude of the display unit.
 18. The information processingdevice according to claim 17, wherein the display control unit isfurther configured to control a transmissive display unit to display oneof the first virtual object or the second virtual object.
 19. Aninformation processing method, comprising: controlling display of afirst virtual object corresponding to content based on a firstpositional relation between a position of the content defined in avirtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in the virtualspace, wherein the content corresponds to information of a real objectin a real space; control display of a second virtual objectcorresponding to the content based on a second positional relationbetween the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint,wherein a first distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorterthan a second distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the first positional relation, and a firstvisibility of the second virtual object is lower than a secondvisibility of the first virtual object; and generating a rendering imageof the content, wherein the rendering image of the content includes oneof the first virtual object or the second virtual object based on theposition of the content in the virtual space.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executableinstructions which, when executed by a computer system, cause thecomputer system to execute operations, the operations comprising:controlling display of a first virtual object corresponding to contentbased on a first positional relation between a position of the contentdefined in a virtual space and a position of a viewpoint defined in thevirtual space, wherein the content corresponds to information of a realobject in a real space; control display of a second virtual objectcorresponding to the content based on a second positional relationbetween the position of the content and the position of the viewpoint,wherein a first distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the second positional relation is shorterthan a second distance between the position of the content and theposition of the viewpoint in the first positional relation, and a firstvisibility of the second virtual object is lower than a secondvisibility of the first virtual object; and generating a rendering imageof the content, wherein the rendering image of the content includes oneof the first virtual object or the second virtual object based on theposition of the content in the virtual space.